New Canadians Centre Peterborough Executive Director Hajni Hos Leaving To Take On Same Role At Hospice Peterborough

Hajni Hos is stepping down as the Executive Director of the New Canadians Centre Peterborough to take on the role as the new Executive Director of Hospice Peterborough.

Hos began her employment with the New Canadians Centre (NCC) as Employment Counsellor in 2008 and became the Coordinator of the Peterborough Immigration Partnership (formerly Peterborough Partnership Council on Immigrant Integration) in 2009. She took on the leadership role of Executive Director in January 2011. During her leadership, the NCC grew in size and complexity.

Photo of HOS WITH HER NCC TEAM by Heather Doughty, Inspire: The Women's Portrait Project

Many programs and services were added so that the NCC could better meet the language, educational, employment and settlement needs of new Canadians. Last year, a team of 27 staff served close to 700 new clients from 103 countries.

Programs such as the Workplace Integration Program and Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) were put in place. Her successful Ontario Trillium Foundation and Citizenship and Immigration Canada grants enabled the NCC to complete the 2013 renovation and move to their current premises at St. James United Church.

Hos at One Roof Community Diner with Team NCC making a lunch

In 2016, Hos was instrumental in facilitating the approval of Peterborough as a Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) Centre by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada—one of a few small cities to receive this honour.

This resulted in the resettlement of 200 government-assisted refugees in 2016-2017 (and almost 400 to date). This initiative has been met with resounding community support, starting first with 400+ community members attending an information session in 2016 to find out how they could assist with resettlement by forming volunteer support teams. This model of support originated right here in Peterborough, and was duplicated nationwide successfully.

Hos at One Night in the Philippines annual fundraising gala for the New Canadians Centre, 2018

“Her passion, warmth and enthusiasm inspire us to achieve better things for our clients and community,” says Faye Shien Tan, who has been working at the NCC since 2010. “As a newcomer herself, she is a wonderful role model for what we can achieve through hard work and collaboration,” adds Olga Stetsyuk, Employment Counsellor.

While her journey of immigrating to and settling in Canada from Hungary in 2007—she was a lawyer in Budapest—has motivated her work at the New Canadians Centre for the past 12 years, Hos is drawn to give back to her community by focusing her energies on supporting families facing life-threatening illness or grief with Hospice Peterborough. She will be replacing Linda Sunderland, who is retiring after 26 years of dedicated service with Hospice.

Hos’s awards over the years include the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce “4 Under 40” Business Excellence Award, the Paul Harris Fellowship from the Rotary Club of Peterborough Kawartha and the Peterborough-Kawartha Women’s Leadership Award.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here. Watch our PTBOCanada Love video here.